Saudi-led coalition threatens retaliation against Iran over missiles

In a press conference at the Armed Forces Club in Riyadh, Spokesman of the Coalition Forces for Supporting the Legitimacy in Yemen Colonel, Al-Malki, said the Iran-backed Houthi militias have launched as many as seven ballistic missiles, on March 26, 2018, carrying the stamp of the terror-sponsor Iranian regime.

He said one of the missiles targeting Riyadh, regrettably, resulted in the martyrdom of an expatriate and injury of two, all Egyptians. The scattering splinters of the missiles have dispersed over a number of Riyadh civilian-populated neighborhoods, in a flagrant violation of the international law.

Col. Al-Malki extended the Coalition forces’ condolences to the family of (Martyr) Abdulmottaleb Ahmed Hussein Ali and the Egyptian people on the bereaved loss, resulting from the heinous hostile Houthi attack, noting that the possession of a terror group like the Houthi militia of ballistic missiles is considered a flagrant threat to the regional and international security, mounting pressure on the world community to work together to confront this serious escalation.

He said the combination of extremist ideology and a terror-sponsor state has contributed to further stirring up struggles in some regions, adding that the lack of both tolerance and co-existence and the dominance of expansionist revolutionary thoughts were designed to spread chaos and hegemony. The situation in Yemen is a sample of this scenario representing the accumulation of the forces of evil and destruction.

Col. Al-Maliki said Yemen has so much suffered from the extremist ideology of the Iran-backed Houthis who usurped power in Sanaa and controlled the State’s institutions, including vital capabilities and heavy weapons, a development that led to the destabilization of the country and suffering of its people.

He stressed that coalition countries have the right to legitimate self-defense as stipulated in Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations and preserving the Kingdom’s right to retaliate against Iran at the appropriate time and form guaranteed by international law and the inherent right to defend its territory, people and interests under international conventions, including the Charter of the United Nations.

During the press conference, Colonel al-Maliki reviewed pictures of an Iranian air defense-type Siad 2 missile that the Iranian regime smuggled to the Houthi armed militia in a shipment of weapons and smuggled technology in a blatant challenge to UN resolution 2216 in order to prolong the undermining by the Huthi militia of the security of Yemen and the region and to make gains for the militia to compensate for the continuing losses in their ranks.
He stressed that the coalition to support the legitimacy in Yemen was able in a quality operation to seize a number of missiles ( Siad 2) of Iran before reaching the hands of the armed militia Houthi through surveillance and careful follow-up and the launch vehicle at Sanaa International Airport was also targeting during training with the help of experts from the Iranian regime, pointing out that the use of Sanaa International Airport as a military barracks and a station for the arrival of smuggled weapons and missiles of all kinds made it a military base to launch ballistic, thermal and quality missiles on the inside of Yemen and neighboring countries, which constitutes a threat and dangerous development and a flagrant violation of the provisions and rules of international humanitarian law subjecting United Nations and aid organizations aircraft heading to and from Sanaa International Airport to targeting.

Colonel Turki al-Maliki said that while the Iranian-backed terrorist Houthi militia, as well as the Iranian regime sponsoring and supporting terrorism were providing weapons and destruction to Yemen, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud issued a generous order to deposit two billion dollars in the Central Bank of Yemen to support the Yemeni economy in addition to other help to Yemen.

He added that the coalition will continue to exert all efforts to enable the legitimate government in Yemen to extend its authority and sovereignty for Yemen to become a safe and stable Yemen and to stand with the brotherly Yemeni people. The coalition forces will take all measures to stop brutal and barbaric attacks on Saudi cities and villages in accordance with the law. The coalition will support efforts to reach a political solution as a better option to get out of the crisis based on the three references.

Colonel al-Maliki stressed that the coalition will continue to play its fundamental role on behalf of the international community in the implementation of measures to establish security and stability in the Bab al-Mandab strait and the Red Sea as well as the continuation and safety of freedom of navigation and international trade.
He stressed that coalition countries have the right to legitimate self-defense as stipulated in Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations and preserving the Kingdom’s right to retaliate against Iran at the appropriate time and form guaranteed by international law and the inherent right to defend its territory, people and interests under international conventions, including the Charter of the United Nations.